Pinewood Derby

This is our first year in Cub Scouts and our introduction to the Pinewood Derby. I had never heard of it before January...but now I think of myself as sort of an expert. It's amazing what I learn as a parent.

Scott made Mr. Frumble's Pickle Car (from the Richard Scarry book)


I was so proud of him and thought it turned out really well. He did much of the work himself, including sanding and painting. Below are all of the cars from his pack. The first row are the Tiger Cub cars (1st Grade). The second row are the Wolf Cub cars (2nd grade). The Bear Cubs (3rd grade) and Webelos (4th and 5th grades) are on the next tables. As you can see, most of the boys chose to make real race cars.


Another great part of the day was hanging out with good friends.


They raced three cars at a time and each boy's car was raced three times. Here are Scott and two others placing their cars on the track.





There they go!!

...and the finish line. I think this was taken after the finish. Scott's car did not win any of the races. The lesson we learned is that we need to add more weight to his car. The starting block weighs 5 ounces and the finished product can't weigh more than that. But, you want it to be as close as possible to that weight...like I said earlier, I'm becoming an expert. :)



This was a family event!! I wonder how many of these kinds of things Amanda will have to endure? Then, I wonder how many "girl" events the boys will endure for her sake.
Overall, I'd say it was the best event that we've done in Cub Scouts this year. The best part was Scott was able to work with Derrick to design and create the car. He used some power tools (with supervision, of course) and really enjoyed doing what Daddy does. It was a great time of bonding for them. And I'm sure we'll participate again next year.